Sushi Roku at the Forum Shops: One of the Better Sushi Meals We’ve Had on the Strip

Las Vegas Strip · Sushi · About $240 for the table, before tip

Vegas isn’t where I expect a sushi meal I’m still thinking about a week later. We had an early dinner before a show, picked Sushi Roku in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace on a hunch, and walked out already planning to come back next time we’re on the Strip. Beautiful room, fish handled properly, two cocktails worth ordering on their own.

Not sponsored. We paid for everything ourselves, and nobody at Sushi Roku knew we were coming.

Sushi Roku sits on the upper level of the Forum Shops, past the faux-Roman columns, behind a curved glass entrance with a glowing blue sign. Inside it’s tall and calm — stone-and-wood pendants over the room, big windows over the Strip. We got a window table. Service was relaxed without being absent; we mentioned we had a show, and they paced the meal around it without rushing us.

The cocktails

Mine was the Empress’ Kiss (Grey Goose, sake, lavender, yuzu, prosecco), up in a coupe with a flower on top. It looks like it’ll be sweet and isn’t: the lavender stays quiet, the yuzu does the work, the prosecco keeps it light. Vika had the St. Cucumber (vodka, St-Germain, ginger, lime, muddled cucumber and basil, prosecco float) — clean, a little more “interesting” than “knockout.” We also ordered a Zen Garden zero-proof (cucumber, mint, pineapple, sparkling cucumber), which was genuinely good and clearly not an afterthought.

The food

The Salmon Truffle Carpaccio was my favorite thing on the table — thin salmon, a little frisée per piece, big rounds of black truffle, citrus oil tying it together. Aggressively truffle-forward, which is the point. Vika made a face on bite one and was won over by bite three.

The Sushi Plate is the one I’d send anyone who wants the kitchen’s measure: yellowtail, tuna, salmon, shrimp, and albacore nigiri with a spicy tuna cut roll. Clean fish, rice at the right temperature, an honest rice-to-fish ratio. The albacore — dressed with garlic aioli, arare, and a wasabi-soy truffle — eats like it wandered in from a more expensive menu.

The Katana was the showpiece: spicy tuna and shrimp tempura inside, alternating tuna and yellowtail over the top, a dot of spicy mayo per piece. Crunch underneath, clean fish on top, the mayo adding without taking over — the one we both reached for twice. We also asked for a couple of simple hand rolls off the dinner menu, and the kitchen made them without blinking: crisp nori, warm rice, no fuss. The first round was good enough that we ordered another roll on top of it, which we almost never do.

What we ordered and what it cost

Two cocktails, the Zen Garden mocktail, the Salmon Truffle Carpaccio, the Sushi Plate, the Katana, two off-menu hand rolls, and an extra roll after the first wave. The bill came to about $240 before tip. For sushi of this quality, in the Forum Shops, with a Strip view, that’s a fair number. Strip sushi is never cheap; I’ve paid more for less.

The verdict

Fresh fish in honest proportion, a carpaccio that earns you, two cocktails worth ordering on their own, a kitchen that says yes, and a Strip view from the table. I can’t say much negative about it. Next time we’re in Vegas, Sushi Roku at the Forum Shops goes on the list before we book the hotel.